THE 200m breaststroke was the one battle in her career that Rebecca Adlington failed to win – but she’s backing Michael Jamieson to conquer it on Thunder Thursday.

Britain’s most successful swimmer reckons Team Scotland has no better standard-bearer in the pool than the man who claimed silver at the London Olympics two years ago.

Jamieson may have to go where no other athlete in history has ventured at Tollcross tonight if he is to seal victory and add to the feelgood factor scorching Glasgow this week like the unfamiliar summer sun.

He could even be chasing a golden standard set earlier in the evening if Hannah Miley retains the 400m individual medley title she won in Delhi.

For once in our sporting lives, Scotland can do more than dream with two world class talents aiming to set the example for 308 of their fellow countrymen to follow.

The 200m breaststroke world record of 2mins 07.01secs, set by Japanese swimmer Akihiro Yamaguchi in September 2012, could topple in the east end of Glasgow such is the quality of the field.

Jamieson has made it his aim to go below 2:07.00 and that time could be now, even if it means shaving almost half a second off his personal best of 2:07.43.

Rivals such as Australian Christian Sprenger, the Olympic silver medallist in the 100m, will pose a threat as will Jamieson’s training partner at Bath, Andrew Willis of England.

Team Scotland rival Ross Murdoch will also be keen to impact, although his favoured distance is 100m.

Jamieson, 25, has been the poster boy for the games in his home city and his big, broad shoulders are built for more than ploughing through a 50m tank at powerful speeds.

He can carry the burden of expectation, something Adlington confessed she struggled to cope with after following her two gold medals and a world record in Beijing with double bronze in 2012.

She and Jamieson were the only British swimmers to medal in London and the long distance specialist, who excelled at 400m and 800m, has no fears about his bottle crashing under the weight of it all in front of a frenzied Scottish support.

Adlington said: “Michael is one of the most focused guys on the squad and he is also a great racer. What I love about him is that he doesn’t get fazed by any pressure. He is so laid back and chilled and easy to be around.

“He’s a great role model for the younger guys coming through because they don’t see him stressed or panicking.

“Michael has been to London for the Olympics and experienced a home crowd already so he knows what it’s going to be like. A lot of the guys who are new to the team might be taken by surprise but Michael has been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.

“That experience will help him enormously, especially as the games are taking place in his home city. He will feel like he’s coming home and everyone in the stands will feel like his family.

“I don’t think he is one of the people you have to worry about when it comes to handling expectations. He is a born racer and will do the job at hand.”

Jamieson won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi four years ago and is back in top form after an injury hit 2013 season, when he only finished fifth in the world championships in Barcelona.

The five-time British champion has yet to claim one of swimming’s major prizes but if he has to hit world record time tonight to seal his place among the greats of swimming, Adlington is convinced he can do it.

She added: “I’m sure winning will be the main aim here in Glasgow, although a world record is within his reach.

“Records are there to be beaten and whether he can do it in his home city, only Michael and his coach will know. I don’t know if it’s even a target but it would be amazing to see it happen.

“He fell short at the worlds last year in terms of what he wanted to achieve, although he had been struggling with injury beforehand. It was nice to see him back on form at the trials and nice to see men’s breaststroke so competitive.

“Michael likes people pushing him on all the time. A lot of people like being the winner all the time but Michael loves the challenge and the racing environment. Given he is from Scotland and Glasgow I know how much the Games mean to him.“

Adlington retired at the age of 23 in the aftermath of the London games in which it was acknowledged British Swimming failed to justify the £25million invested over the previous four years. She may have failed to become the first female swimmer to defend an Olympic title but she still delivered two-thirds of the total medal haul.

At 24, Miley’s a year older than Adlington when she stepped away from competitive swimming but Olympics success has so far proved elusive.

She emerged from the pool in London after finishing fifth in the 400m IM and admitted she had been overtaken by a new generation of teen starlets.

However, her desire to compete remains as strong as ever and gold in Tollcross tonight may add to her conviction she can still compete with the best at Rio in 2016.

Adlington said: “Age of retirement all depends on your event. For me, my body couldn’t so the same things it could when I was younger. As a distance swimmer you need to keep going and it became tougher and tougher.

“Hannah has a completely different body shape to me. She is so tiny and petite and looks like a 12-year-old. She has always had that base endurance because she is quite small.

“She’s so driven because she hasn’t achieved what she’s wanted to yet, everything she set out to do. She will step away when she is ready but I feel she has a lot still to give.”